Iraq tops ‘most dangerous’ place in world list

Iraq is the most dangerous place in the world for civilians to live, according to new figures from the UK based monitoring group Action on Armed Violence (AOAV). Syria, Gaza, Nigeria and Pakistan round out the top five.

Unenviably occupying the
top spot for most civilian fatalities and injuries, Iraq has seen
a renewed surge in violence since the rise of Islamic State (IS,
formerly ISIS/ISIL).

More than 10,000 civilians have been killed or injured by
explosive devices, including car bombs, roadside bombs and other
IEDs, making Iraq the most dangerous nation on the planet for the
second year running.

Countries or regions which have endured sustained conflict, such
as Syria and Gaza, also made the list of 10 ‘most dangerous’
released as part of a wider AOAV report on Monday.

Afghanistan, Ukraine, Yemen, Lebanon and India also feature in
the list.

Seven of the top 10 are in the Middle East, with Ukraine, Nigeria
and India the only counties situated elsewhere.

AOAV’s report documents the number of civilians killed or injured
by explosive devices, the number of incidents in which civilians
were harmed, the types of weapons used in attacks and whether
they were caused by governments or militia groups.

‘Explosive violence’ was responsible for over 80 percent of
civilian deaths in Syria during 2014. It experienced 43 percent
of all aerial bombing worldwide that year.

The civil war, which has stretched into its fifth year, has taken
the lives of more than 220,000 Syrians according to the most
recent figures, with unofficial sources claiming the figure may
be as high as 315,000.

Speaking to RT, AOAV Senior Weapons Researcher Robert Perkins
said the figures show there is “always a market for the trade
in explosive weapons, always someone who wants to sell them, and
always someone who wants to buy them.”

Despite the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) coming into force at the
start of the year, historical arms trade agreements made before
the ratification of the treaty continue to provide states with
ammunition frequently used on civilians.

“Most of the bombs, rockets and shells driving recent
civilian harm were actually traded years, even decades before, so
it’s not likely that the ATT will have an immediate impact,”
Perkins added.

On Friday, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson confirmed to
RT that the British government had supplied Saudi Arabia with
“precision guided weapons” currently used against Yemen,
where there were nearly 2,000 casualties in the past year,
according to AOAV figures.

Andrew Smith of Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) told RT
Western governments have traded arms with other nations on AOAV’s
list, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He also said 80 percent of weapons used in Syria were Russian
traded.

“It is always civilians who pay the price of war. The scenes
of violence and brutality in Iraq show that 12 years on from the
original invasion the situation is just as bad. The humanitarian
situation in these countries is only being made worse by the
steady flow of weapons and the legacy of wars and
conflicts,” Smith told RT.

“The first thing that large arms exporting nations, such as
USA, Russia, France and the UK, should do is end all military
exports to these countries and stop selling weapons to conflict
zones and repressive regimes.”

AOAV researcher Jane Hunter, who worked on the report, told RT
that halting the use of explosive weapons was the “single
most important step that governments could take to protect
civilians from the horrors of war.

“The UN has called for a new political commitment, and AOAV
urges governments to come together to build stronger
international standards against this terrible pattern of
harm" she added.

Perkins is optimistic the governments can implement policies to
reduce the threat posed to civilians by explosive weapons.

“The threat from IEDs is so widespread and diverse that it is
hard for people to see a path to tackle their impact. But there
is actually a lot that can be done,” he said.

“AOAV wants more done to limit the supply of chemicals and
materials that are used to make homemade bombs, more coordinated
efforts to track and document the problem, and more done to help
the victims of IED attacks around the world.”